Author Archives: Jonas

Kaija Helena Aarikka-Ruokonen opened her first little Aarikka shop, the Nappi-Aarikka outlet, in the Wrede merchants’ alley in the center of Helsinki in 1960 with an impressive assortment of buttons – the first of many shops and products to come. She had established the company that carried her name in 1954 together with her husbandContinue reading “Kaija Aarikka”

Margaret Travers Nordman was the first woman in Finland to find full employment in the furniture business and to craft a lifelong career within the field, with her main body of work at the department store Stockmann. Nordman studied at the School of Arts, Design and Architecture from 1918 to 1921 and was the ninthContinue reading “Margaret T. Nordman”

Märta Blomstedt was an architect and one of the driving forces of the Finnish functionalism movement. She initially worked with her husband, the architect Pauli E. Blomstedt but she started a company and continues their projects with Matti Lampén after her husband’s death in 1935. She approached her projects holistically and designs all aspects ofContinue reading “Märta Blomstedt”

Carin Bryggman was an interior architect that was the first woman to found a interior decorating bureau in Finland. Bryggman studied at the University School of Arts, Design and Architecture 1940–1944 and won the Arts and Crafts Association’s design competition allowing her to display her designs at the Ateneum school. As there was little workContinue reading “Carin Bryggman”

Maija Heikinheimo (14 December 1908 – 8 January 1963) was one of the most significant Finnish interior designers of the twentieth century — and one of its most systematically overlooked. For over two decades she served as the creative backbone of Artek, the design company co-founded by Alvar Aalto, functioning as both artistic director and,Continue reading “Maija Heikinheimo”

Few have have had the same impact on design and the arts as Maire Gullichsen, born Ahlström in 1907 in Pori, Finland. Although she made few designs herself, her contributions through the renowned company Artek and personal patron initiatives greatly impacted the development of the Nordic design scene. Gullichsen was born into the Ahlström family,Continue reading “Maire Gullichsen”

There are numerous people whose design shaped the reality we see and feel but who are rarely mentioned when history is told.

101 Designers tells these stories – through 101 posts about people who helped shape our culture, society and daily lives.